Consumers visit hair salons many times a year to get their hair cut. These visits typically include getting their hair washed prior to getting their hair colored, cut, and styled. While getting their hair washed, the customer's neck is stretched backward over the salon sink for ease of hair shampooing, conditioning and rinsing. This process is often repeated multiple times. The postural positioning that each customer endures for this hair washing process causes hyperextension of the neck without proper support at the back of the head. The strain on the neck is increased when combined with rotation and side bending as the customer's head is being manipulated during the shampooing. The hair stylist or barber applies a mild compressive force while shampooing causing hyperextension of the neck. Some people can't tolerate the hyperextension of the neck and will experience discomfort and pain. This pain can last a long time if left untreated. Physicians are seeing patients complaining of neck pain with associated radicular pain in the upper limb as a result of injuries suffered in the salon while their hair is being shampooed. These injuries are often not reported or the root cause for the injury is not properly diagnosed. This neck pain along with the upper limb discomfort is simply known as “Cervical Radiculopathy” or “Salon Sink Radiculopathy”. Less than 1% of the population experience Cervical Radiculopathy but it is on the rise. Treatment includes patient education to avoid obvious postures that exacerbate radicular symptoms and to assume positions that centralize discomfort. Treatments also include strong dosage of pain killers and steroids along with several weeks of physical therapy.
There are many devices like ALIGN-A-NECK® (Ideal Chiropractic Center, NJ) commercially available in the market to improve neck support during the shampooing process in the salon. However, these products fail to provide adequate support to the back of the head.
Additionally, numerous conventional devices are available yet each fail to provide for adjustability or flexibility (or both) for properly supporting the back of the head in the salon sink during the shampooing process.